Chinese digital media group Focus Media will soon announce its executive adjustment plan after the merger of some of its businesses with Sina.com.
Rumors circulating on the Internet today state former Focus Media CEO Tan Zhi will collectively resign with the other executives once the deal goes through formally.
The news team at Chinese website NetEase.com said it has contacted Tan and he did not deny the information. An insider said the rumor about the executive changes of Focus Media has been circulating in the industry for a long time and the adjustments have something to do with the business restructuring of the company.
Focus Media previously announced plans to appoint its executive chairman of the board of directors Jason Jiang as CEO again on January 26, 2009, and former CEO Tan became merely an executive director with no real power. So it is believed that Tan's departure is only a question of time.
In fact, since Sina.com announced plans to acquire Focus Media's outdoor digital advertising business on December 22, 2008, conjectures about the executive adjustments after the merger of the two companies have been swirling. As the merging time is drawing near, this issue has become a focus of the entire digital advertising industry.